Inheritors: "The Log Has Gone Essay

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They make fire (p. 29). They use stones to cut branches (p. 30). They are not afraid to get muddy (pp. 16-17). Their physical abilities, however, are informed and governed by their mental abilities. The people of Lok's tribe, ironically, are not Neanderthals. Golding's use of the word "cunningly" in describing how the old woman built the fire is telling: "She fitted these pieces cunningly together till wherever the flames rose they found dry wood to bite on." Modern day Scouts can take lessons from this lady. Hunger is an almost always present part of the life of Lok and his people. Golding writes how, "Mentioning food made [Lok's] hunger as real as the smells." Golding, too, describes how Lok, Fa, and Liku discover and enjoy honey (pp. 50-51) -- at least until the hyenas crash the party.

Tuami's tribe was, at the same time, physically superior to Lok's people but their physical problems seemed more severe. Golding describes the "new people" from Lok's point-of-view: "The new people did not move like anything he had ever seen before. They were balanced on top of their legs, their waists were so wasp-thin that when they moved their bodies swayed backwards and forwards. They did not look at the earth but straight ahead" (p. 143). Despite their evident physical improvements, however, Tuami's tribe faced even more severe hunger than Lok's people.

Morality

The morality of Lok's tribe is different than conventional 20th century American Christian morality. The people seem to feel no shame or embarrassment in being without clothes. Golding writes, "the tree sifted chilly sunlight over their naked bodies" (p. 15) like it was the most natural thing in the world (which, of course, it was). Although Lok is neither pornographic nor obscene, he is not shy in talking about sex with his wife -- although the physical act does not seem to be his first priority.

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"We shall find food,' he said with all of his wide mouth, 'and we shall make love'" (p. 26).

The words "making love" seem to be severely out of place in the vocabulary of the "new people," particularly if Golding's description (pp. 174-175) of the sexual encounter between Tuami and the fat woman is illustrative. The apparent brutality that marks their coupling is startling. Golding illustrates the scene with vivid and disturbing imagery: "Suddenly he grabbed her with both hands and pulled her against his chest . . . She stuck the nails of her right hand into his shoulder and dragged down . . . He made a kind of snarling sound and threw himself upon her. Now Lok could see the wolf teeth again" (pp. 174-174). Golding's description is enough to make a reader think, 'If this be love, I'd hate to see war.'

Conclusion: For Better or for Worse?

Golding's description of one of the initial encounters between Lok's tribe and the "new people" may be telling: "They were not merely hungry. Lok know famine when he saw it. The new people were dying" (p. 143). Lok's sense of the demise of the "new people" might be overstated and may constitute wishful thinking, but it does contain certain validity. The image that Golding leaves his readers with in the final paragraph (p. 233) may answer the question of "for better or for worse" posed in the sub-title for this conclusion:

"Tuami looked at the line of darkness. It was far away and there was plenty of water in between. He peered forward past the sail to see what lay at the other end of the lake, but it was too long, and there was such a flashing from the water that he could not see if the line of darkness had an ending."

However many thousands of years.....

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